The Masquerade Ball

Author's note:
I origanlly came up with the idea when I was watching my favorite ghost investigating show Ghost...
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Author's note: I origanlly came up with the idea when I was watching my favorite ghost investigating show Ghost Adventures. Althought I got the main idea I hadn't thought of how the story was going to go. Then I realized one of my favorite songs, The Masquerade Ball, fits so well in my story and I started developing ideas as I heard it. As I began writing down my ideas I decided to name my book after the song, The Masquerade Ball.
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Chapter I

Chapter I:

Midland-February 23rd, 1769 Midnight

It was a calm, moonlit night. The weather was calm and cool and the air felt fresh. There were a few clouds in the sky covering part of the full moon. The people of Midland pulled up their stage coaches in front of the Cumins Mansion. Tonight was a special night; it was the first masquerade ball the richest family has put up. The host and hostess were Jeremiah Cumins and his lovely wife Rosalie Cumins. They've been married

*This story will talk about rape and sex many times due to one of the characters going through that.

for six years and they recently had their first baby son named Bentley. Jeremiah was a great landlord, merchant, and a good citizen. He comes from a family with not a lot of money but has a reputation for being the most beloved people in the city. He was a blonde, blue-eyed English white man who came to America when he was two years old. Rosalie, however, came from first class and lived in Midland most of her life. She was the city's most beautiful and beloved woman whom everyone loved. She is very wealthy but she wasn't spoiled like her family. She has long, curly black hair and dark brown eyes. The married couple lived happily in their mansion with their young child, however a tragedy occurred that changed their lives forever. Jeremiah returned from the local hotel after picking up his parents. He got out of the stage coach and helped his parents get out. He walked with them to the mansion and led them to the ballroom. There were hundreds of guests who attended the masquerade ball; woman in their elegant ball gowns and men in their suits. Most of them wore masks on their faces. They talked and danced as the music played. They walked to the table where Rosalie's parents were at. They greeted each other and sat down on the chairs. Jeremiah smiled at his in-laws. He took Bentley from them and hold his son. Bentley had just woke up from his sleep. Jeremiah's mother smiled. "I am happy for you and Rosalie," said his mother, "I never thought you two will ever have a baby so beautiful." "I love my son," said Jeremiah, "Rosalie and I are happy to have a special son like him." He paused for a moment, "Where is Rosalie?" "She went upstairs after you left," said Rosalie's mother, "I think she's in your master bedroom." "Then excuse me." He handed Bentley to his mother and got up. He walked out of the ballroom and walked upstairs. He walked in the right side of the hallway and walked another flight of stairs. He walked down the short hallway and opened the second door on his right. "Rosalie are you in here?" he asked. He opened the door all the way and was shocked to see his wife on the floor unconscious. "Rosalie!" He quickly walked to Rosalie and hold her back. He tried to wake her up but she did not move. He looked to his right and saw a small glass bottle on the floor. He picked it up and realized she poisoned herself. He cried her name a couple times but she did not woke up. He began to cry over his wife's death.

242 years later...

January 23rd, 30 days before the anniversary of Rosalie's death

Two black and silver vehicles pulled up in front of the mansion. The Cumins Mansion hadn't change much. There was a lot of leaves and branches at the porch and on the roof. The windows were a very dusty and had a few broken cracks. The real estate realtor, Ms. Copper, got out of the black car as the Brewer family got out of the silver car. "Oh my, I never thought this place would be so...terrible," said Julie Brewer as she looked around. "Honey, it's winter," said Trevor Brewer, "Besides this house is old and overtime the building will start to look destroyed." "I know, but I was hoping it'll stay beautiful like in the pictures they showed us," she said. "Those pictures were taken in 1935 and 1982," said Ms. Copper, "It was before the snow stopped falling in Midland." Six-year-old Annabel Brewer got out of the car and ran around the place, "Man this place is so cool. I would definitely love to run around out here." "Annabel stop running," said Julie. Annabel stopped. "Well let's go in, shall we?" asked Ms. Copper. They walked to the porch when they heard a noise. "What was that?" asked Julie. They were silent for a moment. "I'm sure it was a squirrel," said Ms. Copper. She unlocked the door and they went inside. The family were surprised to see a huge room with a large stairway, marble floor and columns, a beautiful glass chandelier on the ceiling, and the golden borders on the walls. "Dang, I would love to play around in here," said Annabel, "This place is huge and so elegant." "It's also very classy," said Julie. "Well it is the oldest house in Midland," said Ms. Copper, "It was build in 1760 by the wealthiest landowners at that time. It was later given to their daughter as a wedding present so she and her new husband can start their new lives in this house. The couple completed the house in 1763." "Who was the couple?" she asked. "Jeremiah and Rosalie Cumins," answered Ms. Copper. "So that's how it got its name," said Trevor, "The Cumins Mansion." They walked to the living room. All the furniture were covered with white sheets of blanket. "Ugh, this place is filthy," said Julie, "There's cobwebs everywhere." "If you hate cobwebs so much don't go to the attic," she said, "It's so much worse up there." They walked around the place then went to the kitchen. The place was very dusty, especially the windows. They looked around for a minute then walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs to the second floor. Annabel was in a room that appears to be a nursery. "Annabel what are you doing here?" asked Julie. "I wanted to find a room that's going to be my bedroom when I found this nursery," she said, "I wonder who's room it belongs to." Trevor and Julie walked in the room and found a brown crib and a dark brown shelf against the wall, a chest near the shelf, and a few toys left on the floor. The curtains were white and see-through. "Um, I don't know hon," said Trevor, "I guess the previous owners had a baby. Let's ask the realtor." He called Ms. Copper. She walked to the room. "Yes Mr. Brewer?" "I have a question, who were the last owners of this place?" "Oh, well the last owners of this house were during the early 1900s," said Ms. Copper, "There were only two other families who purchased the house." "But who were they?" "I'm sorry that's classified information," she said, "Apparently no realtor must pass down information from the history of this house." "Classified information?" "Yeah that, now let's look at the master bedroom." She walked out of the room. They followed her. They walked to the third floor and went to the second door on their right. Ms. Copper opened the door. Trevor and Julie were surprised to see a beautiful bedroom. "This room used to belong to Jeremiah and Rosalie," said Ms. Copper, "This is where they both-you know, made their first baby." "Really, you had to tell us that?" asked Trevor making an uncomfortable look on his face. "Oh come on, you know how to," said Ms. Copper, "I mean you made your six-year-old daughter." "I mean you didn't have to tell us that they had you-know-what in this room," said Trevor. "Yeah I know," she said, "But what else can I say other than this is their room." They looked around the room. Julie opened the drawers and found a few old clothes. "Why are their clothes in the drawers?" "Oh, I thought all the clothes were removed from this house," said Ms. Copper. "Why didn't the previous owners took their clothes with them?" asked Trevor. "Like I said earlier that's classified information," she said. They continued looking around. Trevor walked to the window and saw a few tombstones not too far from the mansion. The trees were blocking most of the tombstones. "Ms. Copper? Is there a cemetery nearby?" he asked. "What do you mean hon?" asked Julie. They walked to the window and saw the tombstones. "Oh yes," she answered, "It's the only cemetery in this city. I think I should've mention that in the first place. I hope that wouldn't be a problem for you." "Oh not at all," Trevor said, "I wouldn't mind if there's a graveyard nearby." "What about you Mrs. Brewer?" asked Ms. Copper. "I guess it's okay," she said, "I'm used to these kind of stuff anyways." They walked out of the room and went downstairs. "Ms. Copper, I've been meaning to ask you," said Trevor, "What are all of these rooms for?" "Oh those are the bedrooms for the servants and maids," said Ms. Copper, "The Cumins had a lot of servants and maids." "Oh." They continued looking around the mansion. They went to two den rooms, the dining room, two libraries, two offices with glass walls installed inside, a laundry room now installed with washing machines, another living room, and the ballroom. Julie was amazed to see a beautiful room. "Oh my, this place would be perfect to put up parties." "The Cumins family only put up very few parties in this ballroom," said Ms. Copper. "Like which?" "Wedding receptions, baby shower, birthdays, and only one masquerade ball." "I love masquerade balls," said Julie, "I remember in my high school there was a masquerade ball." They looked around the room. Trevor took off his jacket. "Oh god, it's so stuffy in here," said Trevor, "Are the windows locked?" "Oh, I'm afraid there aren't any locks on the windows," said Ms. Copper, "It's just how it is. However I turned on the thermostat when you were looking around the mansion." "Well can you at least turn it down a little bit?" he asked, "It's so stuffy in here." "We're gonna leave in a little bit Trevor," said Julie, "No worries." He sighed. They looked around the room for a minute, then left the ballroom. "So what do you think of the house?" Ms. Copper asked. "It's not bad," said Trevor. "Well I love it," said Julie, "This house is perfect to live in." "Well Mr. Brewer, do you agree to purchase this house?" she asked him. "Sure," he replied. "Great, I'll go get the papers from my car." She walked out of the house. Julie turned to Trevor, "I can't wait to move in. Imagine how our lives would be when people learn we live in a beautiful mansion." "I don't think we will be treated differently hon," he said.

Two weeks later they moved into the house. They had already repaired the house and remove all the unnecessary things and moved it to the attic. They brought in their furniture and things to the house with the help with some other guys. They began organizing their house. Trevor and Julie took Jeremiah's and Rosalie's bedroom to sleep in. Julie replaced the bedspreads with a burgundy and golden sheet. Trevor placed their clothes in the closet and in the drawers. When he was replacing the curtains Julie screamed. He turned around. "What? What is it?" he asked her. "I-I just saw someone sitting on the bed," she said. She pointed at the bed. Trevor looked at the bed and saw no pressure whatsoever. "Um, I think it was your imagination," he said. Julie was still shaken. He walked over to her and hugged her, "It's alright." She took a deep breath and relaxed, "You're right. I'm just seeing things." She returned to what she was doing. Trevor looked at the bed once more to see if there was any pressure. Nothing was there. He sighed and returned to work. He was hoping to see the pressure on the bed. Six years ago when Annabel was an infant Trevor was a paranormal investigator. He would often travel around the world and across the country to investigate paranormal places and sites. He loved his job so much that he would sometimes hoped his family were visited by one. His family were visited by ghosts many times in the past when he was younger, giving him an interest in the paranormal. But about a year ago Julie forced him to quit his job after she got a job she believed was more important. Ever since then Trevor had missed his job and the ghosts he'd encountered. At 5:30 they were finished. They walked downstairs and went to Annabel's bedroom. It was decorated mostly in pink. Her walls were painted pink, her bedspreads were pink, her rug was pink, and her curtains were pink. Most of the other stuff were white. Her shelves and drawers were white, her desk was white, her coffee table and chair were white, her television was white, her toy chest was white, the borders on the wall were white, and even her easel was white. On her desk was a lamp, a few of her drawings, a cup with pencils, pens and markers, and on her wall was her own bulletin board with a few sticky notes on it. "Wow Annabel, it looks nice," said Trevor. "Thank you Daddy," she said, "It took me a while but I think I did pretty good." "Come on let's go eat," said Julie. They decided to go out and eat. They went to a family restaurant at the other side of town. However many people looked at the family as if they were outsiders. Well only at Trevor and Annabel. Nobody seemed to mind about Julie. They ate their dinner for about an hour and a half, then they returned to the mansion. They watched a comedy movie for a while until it was getting late. They prepared themselves for bed. Trevor was with Annabel telling her a story. She smiled as he told her the story about a group of fairies who saved their land and ruler from an evil witch. "The fairies were so powerful altogether that the witch was no match for their power," he said, "She surrender to them and let them keep the land and have their queen returned." She smiled, "You tell the best bedtime stories Daddy." "Oh, thank you hon," he said, "That's very kind of you." She sighed, "Daddy I have to tell you something." "What is it Annabel?" "Um, when I was organizing my room I heard a voice," she said, "It sounded like a woman." "A woman? How weird, your mother told me she saw a woman sitting on the bed upstairs. Are you sure you didn't mistake yourself for your mother's scream?" "No." Trevor thought for a moment, "That is strange." Annabel laid back on her bed. "Night hon." He kissed her forehead. "Night Daddy," she replied. He got up and turned off the light. He walked upstairs to his bedroom. Julie was already in bed reading a book. "Hey Julie." "Hey Trev," she said as she closed her book, "Everything okay?" "Yeah," he said as he took off his shirt, "Annabel is going to sleep. You know she told me something really strange." "What?" "She told me she heard a voice," he said, "She said it was female and she heard it when she was organizing her stuff." "Oh dear, do you think it was the same person I saw?" she asked. "Was it female?" he asked. "Yes." "Then maybe there's something in this house," he said. "Oh I hope not," said Julie, "I don't want anything paranormal in this house, and I especially don't want you to go back to ghost hunting." "Yeah I know," he said. "Come on let's just go to bed," she said. She put her book on the drawer and went inside the covers. They turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Trevor woke up from a very strange dream. He dream about himself in the mansion but everything was dark; he was all alone in the house. Then he heard a woman cry out "help me" somewhere in the mansion. He walked around the house looking for her when he saw a young woman in a dark green ball gown standing in the hallway. He walked towards her but when he walked closer to her everything turned to a blur. The woman said "help me" over and over again. He got up and went to the bathroom next door. He washed his face and dried himself with a towel. Suddenly he heard a soft whisper next to him. He turned his head and saw no one near him. He shook his head and walked out of the bathroom and went to his room. He changed into his clothes. He walked downstairs to the kitchen. Julie was serving breakfast to Annabel. "Morning Daddy," she said. "Morning' hon," he said. He sat down on the stool. Julie served him eggs, bacon and sausage. "You look tired," she said. "I just woke up from a strange dream," he said. "What was it about?" "Um, well I-" Soon Julie's phone rang, "Hold on Trev." She answered it. "Hello? Yes. Yes. Right now? Okay." After she hung up she turned to her husband, "I have to go. That was the office. I have to report to work immediately. It's an emergency. Come on Annabel, I'll take you to school." "Okay." She got up and grabbed her backpack. Julie grabbed her handbag and put her phone in. She kissed Trevor good-bye and left. He sighed and continued eating. Soon he heard a loud bang from upstairs. He looked up at the ceiling. "Um, hon is that you?" he called. He was hoping they were playing a joke on him. He heard the car drive away. He sighed and relaxed when his stool got pulled back. He stood up, turned around and saw no one. The room began to feel cold. He walked out of the kitchen. He heard someone call his name. "Hello? Anyone here?" he asked. He looked at the second floor and found no one. He walked upstairs and heard some soft whispers. He looked at the hallway and walked to Annabel's room. There was no one there but the room felt freezing. He walked to her window and looked at the woods and the road. No car passed by. He sighed and believed it was his imagination. He turned around and walked out of the room when something fell out of the shelf. He turned around again and found one of Annabel's dolls on the floor. He walked to it and picked it up. He sighed when he heard a vase break from the hallway. He put the doll back on the shelf and walked out of the room. He saw his wife's favorite vase on the floor. The pieces were scattered all over the floor. He looked around the hallway searching for the person who was doing all of this. Nothing made a sound after that. He sighed and walked downstairs to get a garbage bag. He cleaned up the vase and took it downstairs. He was starting to believe there was something paranormal in his house.